Study suggests how to win over 'deniers'

According to the researchers, deniers are united in disbelieving in anthropogenic climate change, but many already believe that mitigation efforts can have positive effects on society (Source: Daniel Munoz/Reuters)

Climate change 'deniers' may never change their minds but they can be harnessed to help save the planet, according to a team of Australian psychologists.

Researchers at the University of Queensland say widespread acceptance of the reality of human-induced climate change is considered essential to effective responses to the issue.

Yet despite enormous effort to convince the public that anthropogenic climate change is real, the researchers led by Dr Paul Bain, say these attempts are increasingly failing.

"Since 2008 the number of deniers of anthropogenic climate change has climbed to one-third or more of the population in high-carbon-emitting countries such as the United States and Australia," they write in today's online edition of Nature Climate Change.

"Attitudes towards climate change and climate science seem to have become part of a constellation of attitudes defined by the 'culture wars'.

"One may have little more luck of convincing a denier that climate change is real as of convincing a conservative Christian to support abortion or a committed liberal to oppose it."

Belief not critical

However the researchers show belief or disbelief is not critical to people to adopting "green" behaviours.

To test their hypothesis, they conducted two studies with a total of approximately 500 participants. They were asked whether they believed: humns were contributing substantially to climate change; climate change was happening, but that humans were not contributing substantially to it; or the climate was not changing.

Those who agreed with the two last statements were classified as climate change deniers and accounted for 36 per cent and 37 per cent of the sample group.

The participants then completed a survey or responded to a statement ostensibly from a previous research participant.

The first study found deniers did believe climate change mitigation efforts would have a positive effect on their nation economically, technologically and help create a more considerate and caring society.

The second study, which focused on how best to motivate action, showed if the so-called 'co-benefits' to society such as promoting sustainable development and improved health were highlighted, deniers were more likely to act pro-environmentally.

"Deniers are united in disbelieving in anthropogenic climate change, but many already believe that mitigation efforts can have positive effects on society," the authors write.

"Broadening the debate to encompass outcomes that are related to deniers' willingness to act ... may be more likely to foster the widespread consensus and support that government's need to enact effective mitigation policies."

Ideological position

While climate change expert Professor Andy Pitman said the paper is "a very useful contribution to the strategy of finding solutions to climate change", University of New South Wales School of Psychology Scientia Professor Joseph Forgas attacked the paper for taking what appeared to be a "very biased ideological position".

"It assumes that 'denial' only results from 'deception, ignorance or misunderstanding' which is a very poor position to take when your objective is to bring about reasoned attitude change," he says. "To label those who remain unconvinced by the evidence as 'deniers' is reminiscent of the Holy Inquisition."

"There is no 'true faith' here to be denied, just a valid disagreement about the validity and reliability of the models and the assumptions of climate change research."

He also questions the strength of the findings saying the first study "simply shows environmental citizenship intentions were greater where deniers (sic) believed action on climate change would result in people becoming more warm and considerate".

"Since almost nobody would want people to become less warm and less considerate under any circumstances, these responses seem to simply reflect a strong social desirability element," he says.

"The real issue is that climate change sceptics are unlikely ever to believe that global warming and human kindness are causally related, so this is unlikely to be an effective means to persuading sceptics."